South Africa's research and development funding must be spent for public good. Shutterstock

South Africa’s government has outlined a new set of policy objectives around science, technology and innovation. These are currently in draft form, and will soon appear in a new White Paper. The overall vision of the policy is the use of science and technology to drive the sustainable and inclusive development of South Africa.

It rests heavily on the systems of innovation framework, which acknowledges that innovation is an interactive process with many actors and relationships. The policy’s key objectives are improved partnerships between the public and private sectors as well as better coherence and coordination in government policy, especially between separate departments.

In addition to these are stronger and transformed institutions; improved financing for research and development (R&D), higher quality of education and higher levels of innovation in the economy.

The proposed White Paper is a constructive and comprehensive document with several strong points. But, we argue, it doesn’t provide definitive and necessary leadership on two key issues.